Pen or pencil holder.



U. P. HAGBR.

PEN 0R PENCIL HOLDER. APPLICATION P'ILED 001'. 27, 1910.

1,032,401, Patented July 16, 1912.

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COLUMBIA PLANDORAPH (IO-,WASNINUTON, D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PEN 0R PENCIL HOLDER.

To all whom, it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES F. HAGER, ofOswego, in the county of Oswego, in the State of New York, have inventednew and useful Improvements in Pen or Pencil Holders, of which thefollowing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is afull, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in pen or pencil holdersadapted to be worn upon the forefinger to maintain the pen or pencil inhand ready for use when needed.

It is well known that after prolonged or continued writing, as forexample, copying testimony in court work, reporting lectures and similaroccupations, the muscles or cords controlling the operation of the indexfinger and thumb between which the pencil is usually gripped, becomecramped rigid or numb to such an extent as to preclude further operationwithout relaxation. These conditions may be obviated to a considerabledegree by frequently changing the positions of the finger and thumb uponor along the pen or pencil or rather by working the pen or pencil backand forth between the thumb and still keeping the same firmly in hand.When the strain is excessive or beyond further endurance, it iscustomary to lay the pen or pencil down to afford free relaxation of thehand and fingers at least momentarily and in many instances it isinconvenient to do this owing to the rapidity with which it is necessaryto act in obtaining a complete and connected copy of dictation andtherefore many devices have been conceived for temporarily holding thepen or pencil in position for use while the muscles are permitted torelax. In all of these devices,however, with which I am familiar, thepen or pencil is held more or less rigidly to the finger therebyretarding or preventing the desired relaxation of the muscles.

The main object of my invention is to provide a holder which will allowa wide range of movement of the finger and pencil relatively to eachother so that the joints of the finger may be readily flexed and thepencil moved back and forth as easily and quickly as though no holderwere present and at the same time affording means for holding the pen orpencil in position to be firmly gripped between the fingers whennecessary. In other words, I have sought to provide a holder in whichthe finger and pencil clamps are flexibly connected in such manner thatSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 27, 1910.

Patented July 16, 1912. Serial No. 589,378.

either may be moved in any direction relatively to the other withoutliability of disconnecting them, thus permitting a free nat ural flexingmovement of the fingers for relaxing the muscles and still keeping thepencil in position to be readily gripped between the finger and thumbwhen necessary.

Other objects and uses relating to specific parts of the device will bebrought out in the following description.

In the drawingsFigure -1- is a perspective view of one form of myimproved pen or pencil holder in operative position upon a hand. Figs. 2and 3 are respectively a perspective view and a front elevation, partlyin section, of the same holder. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of aslightly modified form of holder. Fig. 5 is a front elevation partly insection of a still further modified form of holder.

The holder shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 comprises a resilient split fingerring 1 and a similar resilient but somewhat smaller pencil receivingring -2- which is flexibly connected by a spring -3 to the finger ring-1. The spring -3 is provided with a coil -4 having one end swivelconnected to the pencil ring -2- and its other end offset laterallyforming an arm -5 which is slidable in an apertured swivel head -6 011the finger ring 1-. 5- is provided with limiting stops -7 and -T8 spacedsome distance apart at opposite sides of the swivel head -6 for limitingthe endwise sliding movement of the bar -5 and at the same timepermitting a limited relative movement of the rings 1 and 2- toward andfrom each other. The head -6- which is swivel connected to the fingerring --1 also permits a free rotary movement of the rings 1 and -2relatively to each other, that is, the finger ring -1- is free torevolve on the head -6- while the pencil ring -2- is free to revolve onthe adjacent end of the coil spring -4 and together with said spring andarm 5- is free to swing laterally relatively to the finger ring. Thespring -3- is made of comparatively thin wire and while it serves tosupport the pencil ring 2- from the finger ring lit is easily flexiblevertically, laterally and rotarily in all directions to allow a freeshifting movement of the pencil between the fingers or a free movementof the fingers relatively to the pencil so that the operator may readilychange the position of the fingers or relax The arm the muscles entirelyfree from the pencil Without liability of the latter becoming displacedfrom operative position ready to be regripped between the fingers whenneces-' sary, the spring coil -4. being sufiicient to support the weightof the pencil. The

ring -1- is split or divided at 9 through one side to allow the ring tobe ad justed to varying sizes of fingers and at the same time issufiiciently resilient to frictionally retain itself upon thefore-finger and still be able to turn thereon. This form of ring ispreferable because it is free from projections and conforms more readilyto the contour of the finger and it may be used with the split sideeither at the inside or the outside of the finger. In like manner thepencil ring 2 is split or divided at 10- preferably through the lowerside to allow it to be adjusted to varying sizes of pen holders orpencils and to frictionally retain such pen holder or pencil against accidental displacement and yet permitting it to be readily moved by thefingers endwise therein when desired.

In Fig. -4 is shown a split finger ring -11 divided preferably throughits lower side and having its meeting edges lapping one upon the other,one end being formed with a slot -12 and the other end with a tongue 13passed through the slot and adapted to be engaged by hand to permit thering to be readily opened when it is desired to move it from the finger,said ring being tensioned to frictionally retain itself in place.Associated with the ring 11- is a split pencil ring 2 similar to thatshown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 except that it is rigidly connected to one endof a coiled spring 1% having its opposite end similarly connected bysoldering or otherwise to the finger ring 11. The coil l4 is also madeof fine spring wire and the helices are normally spaced apart so as toafford flexing endwise action in either direction as well as permittingrelative movement of the rings 11 and 2 in any direction and is the fullequivalent of the spring connection shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 in that itpermits a. free relative movement of the pencil and fingers in alldirections and still serves to hold the pen or pencil in position foruse.

The construction shown in Fig. 5 is somewhat similar to that shown inFigs. 1, 2 and 3 except that the coiled spring 4: is made separately andpivotally attached at one end to a laterally projecting bar 5 said barhaving a reduced portion which is guided in the swivel head -6, the bar-5 having stop shoulders 7 and -8- for the same'purpose as the stops 'Iand 8 previously described.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for fivecents each, by addressingthe Commissioner offatents,

In operation the finger ring is slipped upon the finger and held inplace by its own tension and the pencil ring is then adjusted betweenthe finger and thumb, after which the .pen or pencil may be insertedtherein and frictionally held in place by the spring tension of thering. It is now evident that the pencil may be rocked by the fingers inany direction or may be entirely released from the grip of the fingersat any time to relax the muscles and cords and permit as much freedom ofmovement of the fingers as though the pencil were not present and at thesame time such pencil is also in position ready for use when necessary.

What I claim is:

1. A pen or pencil holder comprising a finger clamp, a pencil clamp, andconnections including a coiled spring between said clamps andcompressible and extensible in the direction of its axis.

2. A pen or pencil holder comprising a finger clamp, a pencil clamp, andflexible connections between said clamps including a coiled springextensible and compressible in the direction of its axis.

3. A pen or pencil holder comprising a finger clamp, a pencil clamp, andextensible connections between said clamps including a coiled springextensible and compressible in the direction of its axis.

43A pen or pencil holder comprising a finger clamp, an apertured memberon said finger clamp, an arm slidable in the aperture of said member, apencil clamp, and flexible connections between said arm and pencilclamp.

, 5. A pen or pencil'holder comprising a finger clamp, an arm mountedupon and ad justable relatively to the finger clamp, a coiled springsuspended from said arm, and a flexible clamp suspended by the spring.

6. A pen or pencil holder comprising a finger clamp, a swivel head onthe clamp, an arm mounted upon and adjustable endwise relatively to thehead, a coiled spring suspended from the arm, and a flexible clampsuspended by the coiled spring.

7. A pen or pencil holder comprising a spring ring divided through oneside, a swivel head on the ring provided with an aperture, an armslidable endwise in said aperture and provided with a stop shoulder atone end, a coiledspring supported by the opposite end of the arm, and aflexible clamp attached to the spring.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

CHARLES F. HAGER.

Witnesses H. E. CHAsE, E. F. SPEARING.

Washington, D. C.

